Amazon EC2 Container Service vs Azure Container Service

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Amazon EC2 Container Service

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Amazon EC2 Container Service vs Azure Container Service: What are the differences?

Introduction

This markdown code provides a comparison between Amazon EC2 Container Service (ECS) and Azure Container Service. Both services provide the ability to manage containers within scalable infrastructure, but there are key differences to consider when choosing between them.

  1. Container Orchestration: Amazon ECS uses its own proprietary container orchestration engine, while Azure Container Service offers multiple options for container orchestration, including Kubernetes, Mesos, and Docker Swarm. This gives Azure users the flexibility to choose the orchestration solution that best fits their needs.

  2. Integration with Cloud Platforms: Amazon ECS is tightly integrated with the Amazon Web Services (AWS) ecosystem, providing seamless integration with other AWS services like CloudFormation, Elastic Load Balancing, and CloudWatch. Azure Container Service, on the other hand, is tightly integrated with the Microsoft Azure platform, allowing users to easily leverage other Azure services like Azure Active Directory and Azure Monitor.

  3. Managed vs. Self-Managed: Amazon ECS is a fully managed service, meaning AWS takes care of the underlying infrastructure, patching, and maintenance. Azure Container Service, however, requires users to provision and manage the virtual machines (VMs) that run the container orchestrator. This gives users more control over the virtual infrastructure but also requires more management effort.

  4. Networking: With Amazon ECS, networking is primarily managed through the use of Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs), allowing users to configure network resources like subnets, security groups, and network ACLs. Azure Container Service leverages Azure Virtual Networks (VNETs) for networking, providing similar capabilities through virtual networks, subnets, and network security groups.

  5. Scaling and Auto Scaling: Amazon ECS provides built-in support for scaling containers based on metrics like CPU and memory utilization. It also integrates with Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling to automatically scale the underlying EC2 instances. Azure Container Service offers similar capabilities for scaling containers and VMs using Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets, but it also integrates with Azure Monitor for more granular scaling based on custom metrics.

  6. Pricing and Cost: The pricing models for both services are different. Amazon ECS charges for the underlying EC2 instances used to run containers, as well as optional add-ons like Elastic Load Balancing and Amazon Elastic File System. Azure Container Service charges for the VMs used to run the container orchestrator, along with other Azure resources like storage and networking. Pricing plans may vary depending on the selected orchestrator in Azure Container Service.

In summary, the key differences between Amazon EC2 Container Service and Azure Container Service lie in container orchestration options, integration with cloud platforms, managed vs. self-managed approach, networking capabilities, scaling mechanisms, and pricing models.

Decisions about Amazon EC2 Container Service and Azure Container Service
Andres Paredes
Lead Senior Software Engineer at InTouch Technology · | 3 upvotes · 83.3K views

If you want to integrate your cluster and control end to end your pipeline with AWS tools like ECR and Code Pipeline your best option is ECS using a EC2 instance. There are pros and cons but it's easier to integrate using cloud formation templates and visual UI for approvals, etc. ECS is free, you need to pay only for the EC2 instance but unfortunately, it is not standard then you cannot use standard tools to see and manage your Kubernetes. EKS in the other hand uses standard Kubernates definitions but you need to pay for the service and also for the EC2 instance(s) you have in your cluster.

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Pros of Amazon EC2 Container Service
Pros of Azure Container Service
  • 100
    Backed by amazon
  • 72
    Familiar to ec2
  • 53
    Cluster based
  • 42
    Simple API
  • 26
    Iam roles
  • 7
    Scheduler
  • 7
    Cluster management
  • 7
    Programmatic Control
  • 4
    Container-enabled applications
  • 4
    Socker support
  • 2
    No additional cost
  • 1
    Easy to use and cheap
  • 6
    Easy to setup, very agnostic
  • 3
    It supports Kubernetes, Mesos DC/OS and Docker Swarm
  • 2
    It has a nice command line interface (CLI) tool

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What is Amazon EC2 Container Service?

Amazon EC2 Container Service lets you launch and stop container-enabled applications with simple API calls, allows you to query the state of your cluster from a centralized service, and gives you access to many familiar Amazon EC2 features like security groups, EBS volumes and IAM roles.

What is Azure Container Service?

Azure Container Service optimizes the configuration of popular open source tools and technologies specifically for Azure. You get an open solution that offers portability for both your containers and your application configuration. You select the size, the number of hosts, and choice of orchestrator tools, and Container Service handles everything else.

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What are some alternatives to Amazon EC2 Container Service and Azure Container Service?
Kubernetes
Kubernetes is an open source orchestration system for Docker containers. It handles scheduling onto nodes in a compute cluster and actively manages workloads to ensure that their state matches the users declared intentions.
Google Kubernetes Engine
Container Engine takes care of provisioning and maintaining the underlying virtual machine cluster, scaling your application, and operational logistics like logging, monitoring, and health management.
Amazon EKS
Amazon Elastic Container Service for Kubernetes (Amazon EKS) is a managed service that makes it easy for you to run Kubernetes on AWS without needing to install and operate your own Kubernetes clusters.
AWS Fargate
AWS Fargate is a technology for Amazon ECS and EKS* that allows you to run containers without having to manage servers or clusters. With AWS Fargate, you no longer have to provision, configure, and scale clusters of virtual machines to run containers.
Azure Kubernetes Service
Deploy and manage containerized applications more easily with a fully managed Kubernetes service. It offers serverless Kubernetes, an integrated continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) experience, and enterprise-grade security and governance. Unite your development and operations teams on a single platform to rapidly build, deliver, and scale applications with confidence.
See all alternatives